Politics can get messy. So many people all arguing about what they think is right means that
ordinary folks are forgotten about. Disabled people in particular often go to the bottom of the pile
when dealing with shifting political ideals and changing governments. It’s an ongoing problem
for a lot of concerned parties – a scheme is put in place that will help disabled folks, and then a
new government comes into power and that scheme is scrapped. The problem with this is that
the people who needed that help so urgently are left in the dust.
There aren’t a lot of things that can be done to try and solve the issue, unfortunately. You can’t
easily build a department or division which is separate from the entire government and stays on
regardless of who comes into power – not unless they were politically neutral in some fashion.
Perhaps that’s what we ultimately need – some kind of neutrality in the world of politics. We don’t
feel that progress and goals for helping people, especially those with a disability, should be
bound to a particular political leaning or be something that can change with different
governments and ideologies.
Sadly, the world of political power is unstable by nature. Governments can come to power and
fall at the end of their time in charge, and when they go, they take ideas, task forces and
initiatives with them, even if those groups could have helped in some way. Furthermore, there’s
nothing to say that whatever new party comes into power politically will have any real interest in
helping disabled folks – it is not at the top of the priority list for some people. We find that it can
be frustrating at best and infuriating at worst.
Ultimately, we feel that the best way to solve the problem would be to have a series of essential
services which are not bound to anyone particular political party or allegiance. It ties in with our
belief that there should be a task force comprised of ordinary people who have disabilities
working to help everybody else. Fundamentally, these people and groups should have a
protected budget – something which is not part of the general machinations of government. That
way, if a new party comes into power, the task force can continue to operate. In this way, new
incoming governments have to cooperate with the task force and continue to support them in
creating new policies and schemes to help those who require assistance.
Obviously, this is just a pipe dream. The reality is that political power can often change these
initiatives at the drop of a hat, and it is a shame, but it’s just one of the current challenges faced
by modern politics. We need new policies that work in better ways, and the wisdom to create
something which is more permanent. It is only by doing this that we can provide help and
support to anybody who needs it. The good work that we do to help people with disabilities
should never be restricted by a change in political power.